Serbia’s intelligence agency and President Aleksandar Vucic dismiss claims that student activists and government critics have been targeted with spyware attacks, calling the allegation ‘tri
A day after students and non-governmental organisations alleged that students, activists and opposition politicians had been targeted in a spyware attack, Serbia’s authorities on Thursday denied involvement.
Share Foundation said on Wednesday that at least 14 people in Serbia had been targeted with advanced spyware in 2026 in “the largest documented wave of such surveillance in the country to date”.
The intelligence agency, the Security Information Agency, BIA,
The intelligence agency, the Security Information Agency, BIA, on Thursday responded that these claims “represent nothing more than tri
“The content of these allegations clearly indicates the true intentions of the individuals and organisations making them, namely, acting in the interests of certain foreign intelligence services and pressure groups,” the BIA said, adding that they “operate exclusively in accordance with the laws”.
The University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab research unit confirmed that in at least one case a phone belonging to a student movement member was infected with Pegasus, spyware developed by the Israeli company NSO Group.Pegasus is military-grade spyware, sold exclusively to states and state agencies, Share Foundation said .
Spyware of this kind can access everything
“Spyware of this kind can access everything on a device – messages, contacts, photos, app data, and other files – and can secretly record the screen or activate the microphone and camera. Its use is illegal in Serbia,” the Share Foundation added.
However, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Thursday said the students had “merely expressed their suspicions without a single piece of evidence”.
“In this country, I was wiretapped when I was the leading opposition figure. They were listening to me the entire time,” Vucic said, adding: “Did I make a scene about it, or persecute anyone in the BIA afterward? Never.”
In February 2025, two BIRN journalistswerethe targets of a failed attempt to install Pegasus on their phones. In 2024, a BIRNinvestigationrevealed that Serbian activists were targets of NoviSpy, a spyware developed in Serbia.
Source: balkaninsight.com
